Hello World - Project EDI

Hello world. We are Project EDI. Our first project is Open-Source Sign Language. This is a platform to allow more research into Sign Language Translation, and in turn provide more resources. People are able to submit videos of themselves doing Sign Language and others can then watch these videos and tell us how accurate or inaccurate they are.

These videos would be released as part of a public dataset, where researchers / others can use this to make resources. We do not want to hold back innovation and we welcome others to help research. We are very privacy focused - you do not need an account to contribute, you can choose to make your video private or public. This is important because those who are a part of the Sign Language community face many challenges on a day to day basis.

Here are a few examples:

Recognition and Accessibility: Many places still don't recognize sign language as an official language.
Misunderstanding and Stigma: There are often misconceptions about Deaf culture and sign language, leading to stigma and isolation within the broader community.
Limited Resources: Access to educational materials, interpreters, and mental health services in sign language can be limited.
Inconsistent Teaching: Very few educators are fluent in sign language, which can lead to gaps in learning for Deaf students.
Fragmentation of Sign Languages: Different regions have their own variations, leading to communication barriers even among those who use sign language.
Technological Gaps: While technology has improved communication, not all platforms are fully accessible to Deaf users.
Representation in Media: There’s often a lack of authentic representation of Deaf culture in mainstream media, which can perpetuate stereotypes.

Our journey started with the goal of creating a communication solution that embraces Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity. Our first initiative is an AI-powered avatar named EDI, which is being designed to bridge communication gaps and strengthen inclusivity. Project EDI aims not only to implement advanced technology but also to spark a social movement for acknowledgement and understanding for those who struggle on a day to day basis. We realised there are not many options within the world of technology to bridge the communication barriers between sign language users and non sign language users.

Our goal is to help sign language users (such as the deaf community) by bridging the communication gap (we are going to do this by using AI and body tracking technology to create real-time translations), while also giving people the opportunity to learn sign language themselves. As well as this we aim to make technology more accessible to those who use sign language. However, we quickly realised that this is not currently possible to achieve. There is currently not much data in the world to make this feasible. There are other issues that make this more difficult and complicated for us to achieve our goal, such as dialects as well as there not being signs for certain words.

We are dedicated to pushing boundaries and championing diversity, and we invite you to join us in making a difference.